Mary Fern Hillman
Mary Fern Hillman, 98, passed away of natural causes early Saturday morning, January 27, 2024. She was a longtime resident of the West Jackson community near Richwood.
She was born April 24, 1925 in Ashland, Kentucky, and she grew up with five brothers and two sisters. She was of Scots-Irish, English, and German descent. Her mother Etta Allen was from the mining counties of Bell and Knox in southeastern Kentucky. Her father William Harmon Stull, an orphan, grew up with relatives in Bath County in central Kentucky.
Her family lived in the Millseat area of Ashland, Kentucky. After she married, she moved with her husband Squire (Paul) to Vallejo, California while he was stationed at Mare Island Naval Base during World War II. She worked at the Peter Pan Restaurant in Vallejo. After the war, she, Squire, and other family moved to central Ohio, looking for jobs and farmland. She would spend the rest of her life there and with her husband raise four children. She wanted to go to college and become a teacher, but life took her in a different direction. She was passionate about history and devoured books of all kinds.
She was confident and strong, well organized and hard working, unflappable but sometimes feisty and determined, and extremely kind and hospitable. She was a master cook and piemaker and loved to share beautifully prepared food with family and friends. She took everything in stride and often said of the grandkids, “they are not bad; they are just full of life.” She led a model life for her children and all who knew her.
Her faith was real but never showy. True to her Appalachian heritage, she accepted the good and bad of life and kept on going.
She is survived by one brother, Pete Stull, Grand Rapids, Michigan; her four children, Paul Michael (Olivia) Hillman, Grand Rapids, Michigan; Diana (Ron) Martin, Richwood; Dennis Ray (Vicki now deceased) Hillman, Grand Rapids, Michigan; Betty Shaunene (Jim) Van Buren, Grand Rapids, Michigan; her 14 grandchildren, Nathan Hillman, Rachel Shafran, Sara (Hamdy) Kassem, Danae (Jamie) Marquis, Danielle (Billy) Hoff, Danara (Zach) Moore, Lizzie Beatty, Jesse (Rachel) Hillman, Andrew (Shannon) Hillman, Elizabeth (Doug) Blocksma, Matthew (Laura) Hillman, Joanna Hillman, Christopher (Ayten) Van Buren, April Van Buren; and her 16 great grandchildren.
The family deeply appreciates the four months of kindness and help from the staff at Interim HealthCare of Columbus Hospice and Presidential Post Acute nursing facility. Special thanks for the years of support provided by daughter Diana and husband Ron and niece Benita Taylor.
Funeral Services will be Friday, February 2, 2024 at 11:00 A.M. at the Stofcheck-Ballinger Funeral Home, Richwood. Burial will follow at Price Cemetery in Essex. Family may visit before the service from 9:00–10:00 A.M. and friends from 10:00–11:00 A.M. to offer their condolences. Sons Dennis Hillman and Paul Michael Hillman will officiate. After the burial, there will be a lunch for family at The Plaza Inn in Mt. Victory.
Memorial gifts may be given to the Richwood-North Union Public Library, 4 E. Ottawa St., Richwood, OH 43344.
Condolences and remembrances may be expressed at www.stofcheck-ballinger.com
Stofcheck-Ballinger Funeral Home